Just a few weeks ago, it looked as though Plymouth Argyle were heading into the final weeks of the season in good shape.

They were winning games and playing well and manager Derek Adams had most, but not all, of his players free from injury and illness. But what we do know is that things can change very quickly in football – and so it proved at Home Park.

Suddenly, Ryan Taylor injured his ankle in training on the eve of the Portsmouth match; Moses Makasi’s loan spell was ended prematurely as he underwent surgery on his injured knee, Paul Paton was hurt in the 2-0 loss at Northampton Town and on Saturday, Jamie Ness was injured in a freak collision with Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.

Needless to say, Argyle’s form has suffered as a result of those injuries, yet they are still in there fighting. The Pilgrims are two points shy of the top six and head into a massive match at Scunthorpe United tonight knowing their fate could stay in their hands for teh final day clash at Gillingham should they emerge victorious at Glanford Park.

Of course, Adams would ideally like a full compliment of players to choose from for tonight’s fixture. The above names are not the only absentees right now, but the situation is beyond his control.

Instead, he must come up with a team that can go out and get a result against the Iron, which is perhaps easier said than done.

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With Ness ruled out of tonight’s game, Adams will be forced to make at least one change this evening. And when you look at his options, they are very thin on the ground.

The likelihood is that Yann Songo’o will come into the midfield and shield the back four, which would allow David Fox and Antoni Sarcevic the freedom to get on the ball and conduct Argyle’s attacking play.

In recent games, teenage prospect Dan Rooney has been named among the substitutes and is seemingly ahead of fellow Academy graduate Cameron Sangster in the pecking order. Rooney is yet to feature for the first team, so throwing him in for his full debut in such a crunch game would be a gamble. But given the faith Derek Adams has in his players, I would not be surprised.

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The flip side to that, of course, is the argument that Adams and Argyle have not really blooded youngsters from their Academy in recent seasons.

Sangster’s sole appearance for the first team came as an 89th minute substitute in the 4-1 win over Oldham Athletic, yet he is a player that Adams has previously spoken very highly about.

Many will say that now isn’t the time to be blooding young players, but I maintain that there is never a perfect time. Any stage of the season is important and with Argyle defying the odds given their unbelievable second half of the season, there would be perhaps even less pressure on a youngster thrown into the fray.

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There is no doubt that Rooney and Sangster are talented individuals, but it is hard to see beyond Songo’o getting the nod for this game.

He has performed that role well in the past and arguably deserves the opportunity based on that alone, despite his recent first team performances – albeit at centre half – being far from good. He is a player that Adams trusts and it is hard to see him opting for anything other than experience over the youthful exuberance of a Rooney or Sangster.